


All in Jug's Head

by Aakulujusi



Category: Archie Comics Reboot (2015), Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 'real life' riverdale is more like Archie (2015) but some things in Riverdale are consistent, A Sort of Twist on the whole 'characters watch the show they're on!' fics from the mid 2000s, Bughead is something that Jughead WANTS and is writing but its not happening for real, Multi, Riverdale is all just a story that Jughead is writing, at least not yet ;)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 20:12:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17752700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aakulujusi/pseuds/Aakulujusi
Summary: Jughead Jones has been working on some book for awhile now. After a brief fight, Reggie gets his hands on a copy of Jughead's (working title) Riverdale. Upon getting a glimpse inside of Jughead's fantasy version of the town, Reggie decides to share it with Archie, Betty, Veronica, and the rest of Riverdale High too. Soon after, Jughead is forced to confront the harsh reality thateverybody is a critic.





	All in Jug's Head

_Little did Betty or Archie know, this brief interaction could very well be the death of_

 

Jughead had no time to react. His laptop was snatched from underneath his fingertips and slammed onto the hard linoleum floor of Riverdale High's cafeteria. He was left staring at the bits and pieces there, only faintly aware of laughter and talking in front of him. Anger bubbled in his chest as he raised his head to face the culprit. Someone had ruined his story. His magnum opus. 

 

Hovering over Jughead, with seemingly permeant and nameless lackeys behind him, was Reggie Mantle. The laughing was Reggie. The laptop broken on the floor was Reggie. The unearned sense of entitlement? All Reggie, all the time. 

 

Reggie grinned widely, like he was proud of whatever achievement or sense of self he collected from making Jughead's daily life a living hell. "Juggie! Sorry about your laptop." He said in a tone more suited for stand-up, not apologies. "I just came over to ask how your book was going and..." He looked down at the mess he had made and raised his shoulders in a dismissive shrug. "The rest is history." 

 

Common sense and innate self-preservation begged Jughead to unclench his jaw, to loosen his fist, to calm down and think before he did anything he was going to regret. He breathed in sharply and stood up. Reggie was still hovering, taller. He'd always been. The jock's face invited Jughead to say something. So, he did. "Fuck off, Reggie." Jughead moved away from the table and bent down, trying to salvage enough pieces to make up a full laptop. 

 

A chorus of 'ooo's erupted from Reggie and the hive mind that followed him around. "You think you're tough shit now? You go to some school in the ghetto and now alluva sudden you're hard?" Reggie was getting close, his expensive sneakers crunched a piece of metal Jughead was sure was important. He was looking for a fight, like always, and Jughead was close to giving it to him, _but_ \- 

 

Betty was there, holding her lunch tray and sending her best and most practiced Disappointed Mother look towards Reggie. “Reggie. What the heck, man?” Betty never cursed. She set her tray down at a nearby table and walked over to Jughead’s side, bending at the knee to help pick up the pieces of laptop. Jughead glanced down at her, giving her a grateful look. His mood improved exponentially whenever Betty was around. 

 

“Whaaaat?” Reggie still had that goofy grin on his face. It asked, _did I do that_? The answer was always yes. “I didn’t do anything.” 

 

“Jughead's laptop is broken. How’d that happen?” Betty inquired. Jughead knew that Betty already knew the answer. She was giving Reggie a chance to be honest but he would never take it. 

 

“I don’t know!” Reggie shrugged in an exaggerated fashion. “It just did that. Maybe it exploded. That's what you get for buying a Samsung." He kicked a USB flash drive towards Jughead. It hit the shorter boy in the shin. "Get a Mac next time." 

 

One of Reggie's lackeys chimed in. "He can't afford it." 

 

It was a blur from there. A laugh from Reggie. Jughead rushed towards him. Betty was yelling for them to stop. Jughead was on the floor. Now, Betty was yelling for help. Everything went dark. 

 

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ 

 

"It is in no way that serious, Betty." 

 

"You gave him a freakin' concussion!" 

 

Reggie and Betty sat outside of the nurse's office, waiting for Jughead to wake up. Betty more or less forced Reggie to sit there with her. The biggest downside of growing up with someone like Betty Cooper was that 'I'm gonna tell your mom' was a credible threat. Reggie wasn't sitting in his seat properly, hunched over on his phone and _barely_ listening to what Betty had to say. That helped set this on par with every other conversation that Reggie had ever had with Betty. 

 

"I'm sure it wasn't his first concussion." Reggie replied. School was out. It was a Friday. People were posting pictures of wild parties and hot girls on Instagram. And Reggie wasn't a part of any of it. Thanks to Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones. Two peas in a pod. They both gave him equally strong headaches for very different reasons. 

 

"Reggie!" Betty hissed at him. She breathed in deeply, counting and performing some kind of mediation technique. She had been trying to get Reggie to practice holding his breath and counting to ten for _years_. Reggie thought it was all bullshit. Every time he knocked Betty's attempts down, she held her breath longer. 

 

She looked down in her lap. In her hands was Jughead's flash drive. It was about all that survived Reggie's brief reign of terror this afternoon. She didn't know how she was going to tell Jughead all of his hard work had been destroyed. Maybe she wouldn't have to? Hopefully the USB saved most of that story he was working on. He never did let her read any of it, but he was always writing. Betty was sure the story was beautiful, Jug had put in so much effort. 

 

Reggie rolled his eyes. "Don't you have a date with Archie or something?" 

 

"I had to cancel." Betty glanced at the door. Why was the nurse taking so long? She had told them it was a concussion, then nothing else. Someone had to take Jughead home. He wasn't going to stay overnight at the school, was he? "Thanks for that, by the way." Betty would be on her date right now if Reggie hadn't decided to torment Jughead today. 

 

"You're welcome!" Reggie grinned. He looked up from his phone. "I saved you from Archie forgetting his wallet at dinner and you both having to wash dishes to pay for your meals." 

 

Betty glared. "That only ever happened... " Okay, now that Betty thought about it, she realized that happened all the time. "Shut up, Reggie." She grumbled. She was annoyed with Reggie and let her annoyance influence her to carelessly shove Jughead's flash drive into the larger pocket of her backpack. 

 

Reggie snorted. "Don't worry. I'm sure Ronnie's keeping him occupied." 

 

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ 

 

"You know what the silver lining of all this is? I forgot my wallet at home anyway!" 

 

Veronica gave her best, heartiest laugh. It wasn't that funny. It wasn't funny at all, really. Archie was always losing important things, but Veronica felt it important for Archie to think that she found humor in his self-inflicted misfortune, just as he did. She was currently lounging poolside as the sun went down, her laugh fading away in what she hoped was a natural fashion. Designer sunglasses sat on the tip of her nose. She had a better view of Archie playing poolboy this way. This was her favorite game. A Betty and Archie date falls through and Veronica suddenly had a menial task for Archie to complete. _Oh, Archiekins, do you mind changing the lightbulb? Yes, it does require your shirt to be off._

 

Archie stood in the shallow end of the pool. The water only came up to his hips here. The redhead brought his arm across his forehead to wipe the sweat off. "Whew! I have a long way to go." Archie was a pisspoor poolboy, that was pretty clear. Good thing Veronica had a professional on call. "Thanks for asking me over here, Ronnie. I need the extra cash." 

 

"No problemo." Veronica replied slowly, watching Archie's back muscles stretch as he swung the pool net around wildly. He was probably going to break something. She would enjoy the view until then. "Reggie's always bothering Jughead, isn't he?" She tried to make small talk. Archie was bad at this job but even worse when he was talking. The longer the pool takes to clean, the longer Archie would stay. 

 

"Reggie's always bothers everyone." Archie huffed. He was trying to catch a fallen autumn leaf in the net but he kept missing, only pushing it further and further away from him. "But yeah, sure, Jug in specific. Breaking his laptop is way too far." Betty had told Archie all of the details and here he was, discussing them with Veronica. Rumor has it that all rumors in Riverdale trace back to one single redheaded source. Veronica was sure Archie didn't mean to gossip but it was like a second nature to him. Just another one of many reasons for Veronica to keep him around. 

 

"Maybe Reggie figures Jughead could buy a new one." Veronica grabbed a chilled drink from the poolside table and brought the straw to her lips, taking a refreshing sip. 

 

"Reggie _knows_ he can't!" Archie wadded further into the water, chasing after that same leaf. "Isn't that cruel?" 

 

"Mhmmm..." Veronica tapped on her phone, which was resting on the table. Reggie had posted a new picture and she just _had_ to like it. 

 

"I mean, what kind of guy even does that? I'm glad that me and Jughead have someone as sweet as Betty in our lives. She's such a good friend to him." Archie was so close to the leaf! So... CLOSE! The leaf ran away from Archie, getting sucked into the pool's drain flap. "Dammit." 

 

"Right... _friend_." Veronica repeated. Not to be shady or anything, but mostly to give the impression that she was listening when she really was not. At all. She and Jughead had never really gotten along. Veronica felt the emo-grunge aesthetic was long since played out. 

 

"I should be a better friend to him!" Archie turned to face Ronnie. "I should be waiting in the nurse's office for him to wake up!" He climbed out of the pool. "Thanks for helping me realize that, Ronnie." 

 

"Wait, what?" Veronica blinked at him. 

 

"I'll see you later. You're a great listener!" Archie rushed off, dripping water as he went. 

 

"Wait! Your pay!" 

 

"Keep it!" 

 

Veronica sighed, shaking her head. She readjusted her bikini top and held the home button on her phone. "Text Kevin, tell him to come over. ASAP." 

 

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ 

 

"'You two can go home now.'" 

 

Reggie glanced at Betty's reflection through the rearview mirror of his car. Betty Cooper was sneering. He suppressed a laugh. The school nurse had sent the teenagers home with wasted time and no Jughead. Reggie definitely would have been more pissed off if Betty's mocking of the nurse wasn't, surprisingly, kind of funny. "Go on, Miss Cooper?" He practically begged her to continue. It was rare that Betty went in on anyone but him like this. 

 

"I mean, how's Jug supposed to get home?" Her shouldered were raised in what seemed like a perpetual shrug, hands out stretched searching for meaning behind an underpaid, uncertified school nurse's decision-making. 

 

"Dunno." Reggie shrugged too, but his shoulders didn't stay in the same position like Betty's did. "But, she did say that his parents were gonna pick him up, yeah?" Or were called to. Whatever. Reggie didn't pay much attention passed the nurse finally freeing them from having to smell Riverdale High after dark. Strangely enough, it smelled kind of like Jughead's beanie. 

 

"What parents?" Betty asked, looking straight at Reggie in the driver's seat. 

 

Reggie's eyebrows knit together, a smile pulling on his lips in response to the absurdity of the question he was about to ask. "Did Jughead kill his parents while I wasn't looking?" 

 

Betty was _mad_. She reached over and pushed his shoulder. "Shut up, Reggie!" Her shoulder relaxed, slightly, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why would you even say something like that?" 

 

"It was a _joke_!" He shook his head. "But nice going there, Elizabeth, pushing me when I'm driving like that. I almost ran over a baby in a stroller." This was not true. Betty's push didn't move Reggie's sturdy form even one centimeter, not to mention that the streets were completely devoid of people. 

 

Betty rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You know what I mean when I say that. I just don't think that FP can really--" A call from Veronica interrupted her. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered the call. "Ronnie? What's up?" 

 

"Yeah, Ronnie!" Reggie made a point to be louder and more obnoxious than usual. Ronnie usually got a hoot out of it. "What's uuup?" He leaned closer to Betty and the phone but made sure to keep his eyes on the road. No joke was worth dying over. 

 

Betty cut her eyes at Reggie and pressed herself against the passenger side door, cupping the receiver with her hand. "Sorry, that was just Reggie being an idiot." She laughed in response to what Ronnie had said. "'What's new' is right." 

 

Reggie pouted and righted himself in his seat. He'd get attention somewhere else. Eventually. 

 

Betty remained where she was, listening intently to what Veronica was saying and responding aptly, like a good best friend should. Until, "Oh... Ronnie. I don't know about a sleepover tonight." Betty could have sworn she heard Reggie whisper, "hot" under his breath but she chose to ignore it. "I mean... yeah. I guess I _do_ need some cheering up." She could feel a smile form on her face. Veronica was always good for that. "Okay, I'll do it. Right now I'm in Reggie's car – oh, Kevin's gonna be there too?" 

 

"Unfair!" Reggie exclaimed with a scoff. He was stopping at a stop sign so, unfortunately for Betty, she was about to get the third degree but that's when Veronica, on the other side of the line, came up with a brilliant suggestion. 

 

Betty unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door she was so close to, stepping out. "Thanks for the ride, Reg! I think I can walk from here." She closed the door with all her might and started walking the opposite direction and giggling with Veronica on the phone because she could _not_ believe she just did that! 

 

Reggie leaned over the seat, trying to open the door and call out for her, give her a piece of his mind. But he soon realized, he wouldn't have to waste time and strain his precious vocal chords in order to teach Betty Cooper a lesson. 

 

She left her backpack in the car, just underneath the glove department. 

 

All of the Betty-centric expletives Reggie had floating in his head morphed into a single hope that Betty had a wonderful night full of fun and laughter because now, with Betty's backpack in his hand, Reggie knew he would too. 

 

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆ 

 

The old grandfather clock in the Mantle's living room struck nine as soon as Reggie stepped inside the house. It was a brief thought, but he was reminded of that one time he slept over Archie Andrews' place in 8th grade. That was Archie's bedtime. Reggie snorted because, knowing the redhead, he probably still had one. 

 

Reggie kicked off his shoes and yelled out to the smart home security system. The door needed to be locked and he sort of had his hands full at the moment. He bounced Betty's backpack in his hands, up and down. He was excited! Finally, some blackmail material on little miss perfect! Like a kid on Christmas, he let his imagination go wild picturing what could possibly be inside. BDSM style lingerie? The log in to her secret Murderpedia account? The birth certificate of her long-lost sister whose identity she stole? 

 

Hm, maybe Reggie needed to diversify the kind of movies he watched. Whatever! He opened the door to his room and sat down on his bed with the backpack. Almost immediately, he was riffling through it. Menstrual pads? Ew. He threw those across the room in disgust. 

 

Condoms? Saucy. -- Wait a second... Reggie remembered the sex ed lesson they had on Wednesday. That must be where she got these from. Dammit! He padded through textbooks, all core subjects with "AP" stamped on the covers. AP Literature, AP Calculus, AP Physics... what next, AP gym class? 

 

There was no way Cooper was _this_ untouchable. She had to have something! Reggie turned the backpack upside down, pouring the rest of the contents out onto his bed. It looked like some papers from Betty's notebook had broken free. Whoops. Reggie's sure she won’t miss them. He flips over them quickly, just in case there's a secret code to decipher or something. 

 

But it's a no. Then, just as Reggie was about to give up, he sees a flash drive. "Huh." He picks it up carefully, as if just touching it would make it break. Could this be what he was looking for? Or just another school related project? 

 

Reggie had nothing to do but find out. He carried the flash drive over to his computer and leans down, trying to shove it into whatever socket seems available. He finds a USB port and tries to plug it but... it doesn't fit? Then he turns it around and it fits like a glove. He always gets that wrong the first try. His computer beeps, asking him what he wants to do with the file named, " _riverdale_first_draft.docx._ " 

 

With the tiniest bit of dread sitting in his stomach, Reggie decides to open it. He shuts his eyes as his word processor opens and the document loads. This better not be some boring town archival project Cooper's working on. He breathes out and opens his eyes to the words, "by Jughead Jones" and Reggie remembers the fight he had earlier with that dingy freak and he connects the dots. This must be something Betty picked up. _This_ was the book Jones had been working on. Holy shit. This was a better find than anything Reggie could have imagined. 

 

He scrolls down and starts to read aloud. 

 

" _'Our story is about a town, a small town, and the people who live in the town. '_ " 

 

Reggie let out a deep, guttural groan. This already sounds horrible.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be up soon! <3 Leave a comment and tell me what you thought!
> 
> Things that are consistent with Riverdale will be revealed as the fic goes on so strap in for the ride!


End file.
